Death be not proud

As I sit here at my computer waiting for midnight to roll around so I can register for classes, a lot of random things are running through my head (don't be alarmed, this is my normal state of consciousness). One of the things I have been pondering lately is passing from this life. One of my dear friends just had two relatives pass away in the last few days. That, in connection with something I learned in a class last year, prompted today's thought.

Last semester in my humanities class we talked about John Donne's metaphysical poetry. Normally I don't go in for really abstract poetry, although I like more normal poetry a good deal, but one of his poems struck me. Here it is:

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

This is a very beautiful poem, but what really stuck with me was a quote from the movie Wit. Wit is about a college English professor who discovers that she has very advanced cancer, and it shows her journey from being a cold and uncaring soul to realizing what life is truly about. "Death be not proud" is one of the central themes. The scene that impressed me was a flashback to the professor's days as a college student. She is talking to her English teacher about a paper she wrote on the poem, and her teacher is chiding her on her interpretation of the last line. She supposed that the last line was a triumphant retort against death; her teacher said no, it wasn't, it was much quieter and more subtle: "Nothing but a breath, a comma, separates life from life everlasting."

Isn't that beautiful? Let me read it again.
"And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die."
Nothing but a breath, a comma, separates life from life everlasting.